🔗 linkedin.com/in/amyparsonsedd

Research Focus: School Redesign • Student-Centered Learning • Educational Equity

“Talkin’ Bout a Revolution: Equity-Driven, Student-Centered School Design”

What challenge did your research address?

My research examined how student-centered, equity-driven school design can meaningfully improve academic outcomes and learning experiences for high school students. National indicators point to long-term stagnation on key literacy and math measures, uneven college readiness, and costly remedial coursework, but low achievement isn’t the root cause: high school students nationally report that their daily learning experiences simply aren’t interesting to them. My study explored a pragmatic path forward: student-centered design that elevates learner voice, choice, belonging, and agency, led by school leaders who are equity-minded and disciplined about implementation.

What inspired you to pursue this research?

After nearly two decades working in traditionally structured schools, I wanted answers to the challenges teachers and leaders kept facing. Why were so many high school students unable to succeed in rigorous English classes? How could we support students years below grade-level proficiency? I wanted to move beyond the bubble I’d been working in and find new solutions to guide high school leaders in supporting the students who deserved better.

What did your research find, and what is its impact?

Drawing on a successful student-centered high school and a cross-site professional learning community, my research points to a practical playbook for district and school leaders: lead with design coherence rather than isolated programs, make student voice a routine data stream rather than a one-off event, rebalance rigor with relevance, and build proactive visibility systems so no student goes unseen. The work shifted my own focus from interventions to questioning the systems that produce inequitable outcomes in the first place, and I’m now promoting redesigned school models and building longer-term professional learning communities to help other leaders center student voice in their own redesign efforts.

“Student-centered school leadership has the power to build a more inclusive school climate, increase belonging, and foster connectedness, all of which are deeply connected to student academic success.”

Amy Parsons

Full dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20817804